


Green Light

by sweetestsight



Category: Bohemian Rhapsody (Movie 2018), Queen (Band)
Genre: Drug Use, F/F, First Meetings, Genderswap, Plot What Plot/Porn Without Plot, Smut, mentions of past relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-13
Updated: 2020-08-13
Packaged: 2021-03-05 22:48:22
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,937
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25873114
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sweetestsight/pseuds/sweetestsight
Summary: It happens suddenly. One minute everything is fine, the meticulously maintained and wholly reliable engine of her dad’s ford puttering away as the car carries on down the road. The next, there’s a loud popping sound from the hood followed by a sudden burst of smoke.Joanna's car breaks down. Three women come to her aid.
Relationships: John Deacon/Brian May/Freddie Mercury/Roger Taylor
Comments: 3
Kudos: 32





	Green Light

**Author's Note:**

> this fic was apparently started on 6th of november 2019, abandoned and then finally finished more recently and now it's being dumped on you. i regret everything. enjoy.
> 
> (also please don't take notes from this lol don't go home with strangers)

It happens suddenly. One minute everything is fine, the meticulously maintained and wholly reliable engine of her dad’s ford puttering away as the car carries on down the road. The next, there’s a loud popping sound from the hood followed by a sudden burst of smoke. All at once the engine is choking and sputtering, the sound nearly deafening.

Joanna swears and pulls over, switching the engine off and waiting for a beat. When her heart stops racing and the smoke disperses slightly she turns the key again. Nothing happens; not a sound.

“Shit,” she mutters, then punches the wheel. “Shit, shit, shit!”

It doesn’t solve much, but the pain in her knuckles is grounding. 

She lets her head rest against the top of the wheel and takes a breath. The darkness outside is stifling, the thick country air pressing in. She’s well and truly in the middle of nowhere, the lights of any city completely vacant from the horizon. There are farms—wheat, she thinks, though honestly she isn’t sure. She doesn’t see any houses. She doesn’t see anyone. She hasn’t even made it out of Cornwall. 

It had been a stupid idea to come out here in the first place. 

She swears to herself one last time and opens the door, light flooding the car as the interior lights flick on. She leaves the door open as she turns to the hood, wrenching it upward and immediately coughing as a plume of smoke hits the air. 

She knows enough about engines to know they shouldn’t look like that. There’s no clear cause for it, either—even with her basic engineering knowledge she doesn’t see anything notably _wrong._

She could try to walk to the nearest town and find a phone, she supposes. She doesn’t like the idea. Already the darkness is getting under her skin. She could sleep in the car. That’s not advisable, either. Not out here. 

She’s still turning it over in her head when headlights catch the swirls of the smoke and cut through the darkness. She turns to see an old van pulling over, the engine all but growling and groaning as it idles closer, and she backs up slowly toward her door. 

The engine cuts to neutral, the headlights still shining warmly in the gloom. “It’s alright,” a girl calls through the driver’s window. “You need help?”

“You wouldn’t happen to be a mechanic, would you?” Joanna calls.

The driver’s door opens and a girl hops out, cigarette between her lips and dirty blond hair hanging tangled and messy down to her shoulders. She paces closer, the chains around her neck jangling pleasantly. When she reaches the hood she pauses and hums around her cigarette. “What’d you do to it?” 

Joanna huffs. “Nothing. I’ve been driving all day. I made one stop, and now all of a sudden it’s spitting smoke.”

The girl waves her hand through the smoke, squinting at the engine. Her fingernails are painted black and white and her eyelashes are very long, casting dramatic shadows across her cheeks. “I hate to say it, but I think it’s fucked. Hold this.”

She passes Joanna her cigarette. Joanna, without hesitation, sticks it in her own mouth. 

The girl raises her eyebrows. “I said I _hold.”_

“I am holding it, technically,” Joanna says halfheartedly. “It’s been a long day.”

“Oh yeah?”

Joanna pauses, puffing out a plume of smoke not unlike the car’s engine as she debates how much she should say. “I drove out to see my boyfriend,” she settles on. 

“Yeah?” the girl calls over her shoulder. A loud clang sounds from inside the car. “He didn’t want to come along?”

“I came to surprise him,” Joanna huffs. She worries the cigarette between her fingers. “He was out here on holiday to—to ‘get away from it all,’ apparently, only I think he really meant me. He was meeting someone else out here.”

The girl pauses to look at her. “You’re serious?”

“Yeah,” Joanna says bitterly. She takes a last drag of the cigarette before offering it back.

“Keep it,” the girl says with a wince, going back to work. “So what happened?”

“I dumped him,” Joanna says without preamble.

The girl laughs. “Congratulations.”

Joanna blinks, taken aback. “What?”

“I said congratulations,” the girl repeats, standing up to face her. She brushes a strand of hair out of her face, leaving a smudge of oil in its place. “Even if he hadn’t been cheating, he was still a complete and utter wanker.”

Joanna frowns. “Listen, it’s not as if you can—"

“Is this yours?” the girl says, wrenching something out of the engine and holding it aloft.

It takes Joanna a long moment to identify the short bit of sooty metal. “Is that the spark plug?”

“What’s left of it.”

“That’s not mine, though,” she says slowly, realization dawning as she studies it. “We replaced it last month with a colder one.”

The girl nods. “Let me guess. You left your ex alone for two minutes at—wherever it was you met to talk about it, I don’t know. He was pissed off and alone and within eyesight of your car. He had just enough time to replace your old one with this.”

“How do you know that?”

“It’s the one thing about engines I actually _do_ know.” The girl looks away. “It’s what I would’ve done. Easiest way to royally fuck up a car in five minutes or less. It starts sputtering as soon as you’re far enough down the road to rule sabotage out, and by the time you know what’s happening it’s running way too hot and wrecking the engine. Cheapest way to ruin a car without being caught.”

“I’m assuming you can’t fix it?”

“No, it’s totalled. You must’ve really pissed him off.”

Joanna huffs out a humorless laugh. “He was the one who cheated. All I did was catch him.”

The girl shrugs. “Like I said, congratulations. Now, do you want a ride home or not?”

Joanna blinks. Maybe she should be indignant about all of this, but the anger that’s usually bubbling just below the surface has been shocked entirely away. All she can do is stare as the girl digs through the pocket of her jacket, unearths a pack of cigarettes, and lights a new one with the zippo hanging around her neck. She holds Joanna’s gaze the entire time, and when Joanna still hasn’t answered by the time she’s exhaling her first drag she waves a ring-heavy hand through the air impatiently. “Well?”

“I live in Kensington,” Joanna says. 

“ _Kensington_ Kensington? In London?”

“Yes,” Joanna says slowly. “What other Kensington is there?”

The girl purses her lips. “We can’t drive you that far. Not tonight. Fuck, you’re about five hours from home out here. The best we could do is take you to a hostel, or you can stay with us if you’d like. I don’t have much, but…” 

“Who’s ‘us’?”

“My girlfriend,” the girl says, and Joanna can’t tell if she means it in the traditional sense. “She’s another Londoner. Hampton.” Joanna’s nose wrinkles. “It’s me, her and a straggler we picked up a few weeks ago.”

“Straggler?”

“Yeah. Some chick trying to see the countryside or whatever.”

Joanna purses her lips. “I don’t want to inconvenience you, but I don’t think any hostel will be open this late.”

The girl waves her off. “It’s no inconvenience. Believe me.”

“Well, then. I’m Joanna,” she replies, grabbing her purse out of the Ford and locking the door. “”You can call me Joannie. I’ll try not to be a bother.”

“Regina,” the girl replies. She stomps her cigarette out as the two of them head toward the van. “And don’t worry about it. I’ll be happy to have some sane company for once.”

The passenger window squeaks as someone rolls it down. “Reggie,” a voice shouts. 

“Yep,” Regina calls back. 

“Which one of them is that, then?” Joanna mutters. 

“Take a wild guess.”

“Don’t get any smoke in the car,” the voice calls again. 

Joanna frowns. Definitely the suburban. 

“There’s already smoke in the car,” Regina calls back. She slides the back door open for Joanna before climbing into the driver’s seat. 

“I mean cigarette smoke, not the other stuff.”

Joanna settles, listening with half-focus as she looks around. The van is divided in half with a bead curtain, the seats worn and cracked. The air is heavy and cloudy with pot and the smell goes straight to her head. 

“How do you mind cigarette smoke but not pot?” Regina says as she throws the car back into drive. Joanna starts and slams the door shut quickly.

“It’s the principle of the matter,” the girl in the shotgun seat says flippantly. 

“I hope you know that that makes _literally no—“_

The girl huffs and turns in her seat, meeting Joanna’s eyes and extending a hand. “Brianna May,” she says softly, a smile reaching her eyes. Her curly hair is messy and she isn’t wearing any makeup, and Joanna could stare at her for possibly forever. “Welcome to the van,” she adds sarcastically

“Joanna Deacon. The pleasure’s all mine,” Joanna murmurs. She swears she feels a fizz of electricity when she shakes Brianna’s hand. 

“We’re not done with this, Bri,” Regina says. 

Brianna rolls her eyes. “Pot, Deaky?” She offers. 

Joanna accepts the proffered joint with a nod of thanks, taking a quick drag. She holds it and counts for ten beats along to Instant Karma! playing softly on the radio, and when she recognizes it the little laugh she lets out nearly sends her choking on smoke. She manages not to, and Brianna sends her a tiny nod in return. 

The joint is snatched neatly from her fingers, and when she turns she nearly has a heart attack. 

There’s a girl sitting next to her in the darkness, black eyes wide and peering innocently through the cloud. She adds to it in one long breath before sending her a smile. “Where are you from, then?”

“Oadby,” Joanna says. “I’m in Kensington for school. You?” 

“Kensington,” the girl says, dragging the word out like a sigh. “I love Kensington. Me, I’m from Middlesex. Kensington is much preferable to there. Anywhere is, really. You’ve got to get out now and then.”

“That makes you the hitchhiker.”

“The name is Freddie, darling, and I suppose it does. I quite like it here, though. I think I might stay.”

“I don’t remember inviting you,” Regina says. “Actually, I don’t remember inviting either of you.”

“You couldn’t turn us away,” Brianna replies. 

“We’re like a disease,” Freddie adds serenely. 

“Whatever,” Regina huffs. She meets Joanna’s eyes in the mirror. “Listen, Joannie. Fall in with these lunatics and they’ll never have enough of you. You’ve got to believe me. Best get out while you can.”

“Don’t scare her off, Regina,” Brianna chides. “You’re being rude, and especially to someone who seems perfectly lovely. She’s had a rough time of it, anyway. It’s horrible luck, having a car break down like that.”

“Sabotage is what it was,” Regina tells her. “A vengeful ex boyfriend.”

“See? Men are swine,” Brianna says, waving a hand until a tap on the shoulder has her turning to accept the joint back from Freddie instead. “Joannie, I’m sure you could use good company as much as the rest of us.”

“That’s enough of that, Bri,” Regina mutters. “And enough pot for you, as well.”

“I’m just being truthful,” Brianna says defensively. 

“Yeah, well. Next time maybe don’t be.”

Freddie is watching Joanna in the darkness again, eyes big and assessing. She has very pink lips, and when she catches Joanna watching she purses them slightly in thought. “I think it’s a nice sentiment,” she says. 

“You would,” Regina says. “The two of you are going to get us locked up, I swear to god. There’s a time and place, you know. Fuck.”

Joanna rolls it over in her head alongside the dizzy, slow fog of good pot that’s growing stronger by the minute. Nothing makes sense, or maybe everything does. She meets Freddie’s eyes once more and sees the bare truth in them, the raw, snapping honesty of it, and takes a leap of faith. 

“I think she’s right too, for what it’s worth,” she says lowly, and Brianna’s head snaps back to look at her. “What girl couldn’t use a little good company?” 

“That’s what men are for, I suppose,” Regina says lightly. “Next time find one that isn’t inclined to wreck your car.”

“I think I’ve had enough of men, actually,” Joanna says, mimicking Regina’s light tone. “At least for now.”

Freddie’s eyes grow noticeably darker, noticeably more interested. “Yeah?” She asks lowly. 

Joanna looks at her and nods. 

Regina’s flat turns out to be a shoebox upper floor of a small house in Truro. The four of them file in through the outdoor stairs and into the tiny space. It’s already lit with a string or two of Christmas bulbs, the big round type made of glass, and the air is heavy with humidity from the marine air outside. Regina’s bed is nothing more than a mattress set on the hardwood floor piled high with afghans and pillows; Brianna flops down on it immediately and makes herself comfortable, flipping her skirt down when it rides up her thigh a little.

“Fred,” Regina says, waving her hand vaguely.

Freddie nods once. “Yep,” she says. She digs quickly through the albums piled up beside the bed until she finds _Dark Side Of The Moon_ and drops the record onto the turntable in the corner before passing the jacket off to Brianna, who immediately dumps a tin of pearl jasmine out into the crease and separates the round balls of tea from scattered bits of pot. She works efficiently, long fingers nudging the seeds to the side.

“Joannie,” Freddie says, sprawling down beside Brianna. “Come join us.”

Joannie toes her shoes off warily, coming to sit beside Freddie on the mattress. When Freddie sighs impatiently she reclines until her back is pressed against Freddie’s shoulder, and that gets her a happy sigh instead. Brianna’s lips quirk up at the sound as she opens a box of rolling paper and begins rolling a joint with confident, efficient movements.

“Do you need anything, Joannie?” Regina calls. “Food? Water?”

“Thank you. I’m quite alright,” Joannie replies. “I’ve already eaten. Besides, you’ve been more than generous.”

Regina hums. “If you change your mind do let me know,” she says, rifling through the kitchen. “We’ve actually got food now that Bri insists we do weekly shopping.”

“Reggie,” Bri calls impatiently.

“Give me a minute.”

“This one’s yours, if you want it,” Brianna says, pulling a second piece of rolling paper out. Joannie can’t stop watching her fingers as she does it; they move gracefully and smoothly, yet every movement is carefully deliberate.

“No, no,” Regina calls from the makeshift kitchen. “We can share.”

“You sure? It’s not exactly strong.”

“You sure it’s even pot, dear?” Freddie says lightly. “I’m starting to wonder if we’ve been smoking tea this whole time.”

Brianna sticks her tongue out playfully.

“It’s fine, I swear,” Regina calls. “Damn it. Where did you put that wine from earlier?”

“It’s in the—”

“No, wait. I’ve got it.” She returns, settling on the last unoccupied corner of the mattress and passing the bottle off to Brianna in exchange for the joint and lighter. “Cheers, love.”

The smell of pot hits the air. Joannie watches Regina pass the joint off. Her brain is hitting the strangely meditative point of its high, mind chugging along slowly and wandering in all directions along the way. She can feel Freddie running her fingers through her hair, and she leans into the touch.

Freddie laughs. “You’re like a cat.”

“Mmh.”

“You’re so pretty, Joannie.”

“Am not.”

“Are so,” she teases. “Don’t tell me nobody’s ever told you before. You’re beautiful. That ex of yours didn’t deserve you.”

“I don’t want to talk about my ex,” Joannie tells her.

Freddie leans forward to accept the joint from Brianna. “Quite right,” she says. “There’s no use wasting any more energy on him, is there?”

“Not when I’m sitting here with someone like you,” Joannie murmurs.

She thinks it comes out quietly enough that Freddie wouldn’t have heard, but she’s mistaken; Freddie shoots her a conspiratorial smile and wags the joint through the air. “You want it?”

Joannie nods.

Freddie doesn’t hand it over, though. She takes a long pull of it, cheeks hollowing, before leaning over until Joannie’s head is cradled against her collarbone. She cups her cheek with one hand and thumbs her jaw open, brushes their lips together and breathes smoke directly into her mouth.

Joannie instantly feels her head spin in a way that has nothing to do with the pot and everything to do with the lips against hers and the hand sneaking into her hair. She only barely avoids coughing, waiting until Freddie pulls back slightly before breathing out again, holding eye contact as she does.

Freddie smiles.

The world comes back into focus, enough that she can hear Brianna breathing next to them, a little heavier than before.

It’s Regina who lets out a shaky breath. “You’ve got a death wish, Fred.”

Freddie shakes her head. “You country girls are so touchy. Learn to take a risk.”

Learn to take a risk. Yeah, that’s what she should do. She reaches up and hooks her hand around Freddie’s neck, dragging down to kiss her for real.

Distantly she’s aware of the gasp that Brianna draws in, but she barely registers it. All she can focus on is the warmth of Freddie’s lips against her own, the way they part slightly as she gasps, the way Freddie’s tongue slides dirtily up against her own. She can’t quite bite back her whimper when Freddie’s hand trails down from her shoulder to play with the front of her blouse, playfully rubbing the fabric of her collar between her fingers before moving to cradle the back of her neck. Her other hand wraps around her lower back, and she feels as weak as she feels protected. She’s practically being cradled, sprawled against Freddie’s body, and the position makes her dizzy.

“Jesus,” she hears Brianna breathe.

She can hear her own heartbeat pounding in her ears, and when Freddie pulls away to nip sharply at the joint of her jaw she can’t help the gasp that escapes her. It’s loud in the relative stillness of the room, and her cheeks heat with what she’s sure is a bright red blush. Freddie grins against her neck and does it again, letting out a little laugh at the sound that tries to escape Joanna’s throat.

“You can make noise,” she murmurs. “Don’t be shy about it, darling.”

She doesn’t want to come off as _easy_ , though. They’ve barely even done anything and she’s already moaning like some kind of slag. She can’t very well help it, but this is all getting to her more than she’d care to admit.

She looks up and catches Brianna’s gaze mere feet away—Regina pressed against her back, her hand splayed low on Brianna’s stomach, her eyes hooded as she blows a long stream of smoke off to the side—and that just makes her blush harder and squeeze her eyes shut.

“See?” Freddie breathes into her ear, and a shiver runs down her back. She squirms. “You make such a pretty sight, honey. Look at them, they can’t look away.”

“ _Freddie,_ ” she gasps, cheeks burning, and Freddie laughs into her hair.

“Are you high, Joannie?” Brianna asks quietly.

Joanna shakes her head. “Only a little.”

“You sure?”

“I’m sure.” She turns to look up at Freddie. “Please.”

Freddie examines her face for a minute, then smiles. “Please what?”

She fists one hand in the smooth fabric covering Freddie’s waist and Freddie raises her eyebrows expectantly, a teasing smile on her face. “I want to get off,” she mumbles.

Freddie’s smile just grows. “Yeah? How are you gonna do it?” she asks, rubbing the back of Joanna’s neck soothingly only to tug on her hair the next second. “Are you going to strip down for us and touch yourself? Nothing’s stopping you.”

“Jesus, Fred,” Regina grits out, and when Joanna spares her a glance her pupils are blown.

“I’d love to see you stretched out for us, moaning on your own fingers,” Freddie continues, her voice low and resonating against Joanna’s back. “I think you’d look divine, you know.”

“I want you to,” Joanna says quickly. “To do it, I mean.” She gathers her courage and looks up at Freddie, and Freddie smiles warmly at her.

“It would be my pleasure,” she says. She gives her one last kiss before tugging her gently upward until her shoulder is pressed against Freddie’s chest, her face near Freddie’s neck, Regina and Brianna now facing her head-on. She unbuttons her blouse slowly enough to be teasing, her other hand playing with the hem of her skirt and inching it slowly up her thigh. Joanna shivers, and Freddie laughs. “You’re so responsive, I love it.”

“She’s gonna combust if you tease her any more,” Regina says.

“Oh, I think she likes it,” Freddie murmurs, eyes sharp. “Do you, Joannie? Do you like it?”

She nods quickly, cheeks flaming. “Will you touch me?”

“Impatient.” The last button on her blouse falls open, and Freddie reaches under the fabric to trace over the lace of her bra, thumbing her nipple through the thin nylon. She shivers again. “Christ, look at you. Whoever this boy was, I can tell you right now that he didn’t even deserve to see you like this.”

She seems to lose a bit of her patience at her own slow pace then, tugging quickly on Joannie’s suede skirt until she finds the zipper and then making quick work of it. Joanna raises her hips to help Freddie with it, and it leaves her in just her open blouse, bra and half-soaked panties. When she tries to press her thighs together Freddie tuts and hooks an ankle around one calf, dragging her legs open. “There you go. Come on.”

Brianna’s eyes have gone very, very dark across the room. Regina kisses the side of her neck, gaze still trained on Joanna, and sneaks a hand under Brianna’s skirt. Joanna can’t see what she’s doing from here, but either way it makes Brianna’s eyes flutter as she sucks in a breath.

Freddie cups her pussy, the heel of her palm pressing against her clit, and Joanna can’t help herself as she bucks up into it.

“You’re needy, you know that?” Freddie asks her.

“Freddie,” she warns.

“Yes?”

Joanna huffs, her thighs tensing as she tries to close them before remembering herself. “Please,” she breathes.

“What? You can ask for anything.”

She feels like she can’t draw in enough air. She lets out a little whimper, and Freddie laughs quietly again.

“You don’t know what to do with yourself. Look at you. I’m gonna take care of you, Joannie.”

Her hand slides into Joanna’s panties, fingers rubbing along her slit and just barely teasing into her entrance to spread the slickness there.

Regina’s eyes zero in on the movement. “Is she wet for you?”

“You’re soaked,” Freddie breathes into Joanna’s hair. “Poor thing. You need it bad, huh?”

She can’t even think up a verbal response to that. She just nods helplessly, arching into Freddie’s touch as she squeezes one of her nipples through her bra.

“It’s alright. I’ve got you.”

Her fingers circle her clit carefully once before building up a slow rhythm, sliding against her messily. Joanna sighs and falls back against Freddie’s chest, letting her take over full control as she murmurs sweet words into Joanna’s hair. She catches Brianna’s eyes again, and Brianna looks about as wrecked as she feels.

Brianna’s eyes fall shut, her cheeks flushing as her brow furrows, and Regina tugs sharply on her hair. “Eyes open, Bri,” she says, her tone allowing no argument.

Brianna’s eyes open again, and when she sees Joanna watching her she moans softly.

It doesn’t take much for the feelings to build on each other. It doesn’t take nearly as long as she’d like, anyway—easy, she’s _way too easy for these people—_ and when Freddie notices the way she’s squirming she smiles.

“Getting there?”

“Yeah,” Joanna pants. “Yeah, yeah.”

“Is it good?”

“Freddie, it’s _so good._ ”

“You sound so sweet like this,” Freddie murmurs in her ear. “Are you going to come?”

“Yes,” she gasps, then lets out a thin, quiet moan before turning her face toward Freddie’s neck. “I think—Freddie, I think I’m gonna—”

“Yeah?” Freddie asks her. “Let’s see it, then.”

It only takes another few motions before she feels herself reaching the top of the wave. She hovers there, breathless, and then she’s falling down the other side, a long moan leaving her lips. She feels boneless and sluggish, pleasure still washing steadily through her under Freddie’s ministrations.

Freddie doesn’t stop, though. She keeps up her movements, fingers moving firm and steadily as she drops a kiss on the corner of Joanna’s open mouth. “Sweet thing,” she murmurs. “Have you got another one for me?”

“Freddie,” Joanna slurs quietly, and just as she thinks the pleasure is going to fade it doubles back on itself under Freddie’s careful touch. She breaks off into a moan and all at once she can’t control the sounds that leave her mouth, long breathy things that are too loud in the space.

“There you go,” Freddie murmurs against the side of her face. “Oh, beautiful.”

Her second orgasm rises inside her and then topples within seconds, pleasure stacking up on the residual glow of the first and leaving her brain feeling like it’s melting. She closes her eyes and feels instantly drunk with it. She isn’t sure which way is up or down, what her name is, where she is—all she can feel is the breath in her lungs and the warm hands touching her.

Freddie’s touch slows finally. Distantly she can hear the others talking, but it takes her a long moment to even catch up with what they’re saying. When she opens her eyes the first thing she sees is Regina’s face.

“I think you killed her,” Regina says, grudgingly impressed. “Fuck, Fred.”

Freddie kisses the corner of Joanna’s mouth. “You alright, darling? You went out for a second.”

Words are difficult shapes to form. She has to search for them for a moment. “I’ve never come like that in my life,” she says, her words slurred.

Freddie laughs against her back. “Consecutively?”

“Like _that,_ ” she says, making a crude gesture. “Just from someone…”

“Wait, seriously?” Regina pipes up. “I mean, you touch yourself, right?”

“Yeah,” Joanna says, a touch defensive. “I mean someone else.”

Regina looks suddenly very irritated.

If Freddie is surprised at all she does a very good job of hiding it. She just smiles down at Joanna and runs a soothing hand up her thigh. “I think we’ve got a lot of lost time to make up for, then,” she says with a smile. “Wouldn’t you agree?”

“You’re going to kill me,” Joanna says faintly.

Regina laughs and lets Brianna go finally—Brianna, who looks like she’s losing her mind a little bit, arching into Regina’s touch and squirming against her. She looks particularly put-out when Regina moves her hand away finally and pushes her in Joanna’s direction.

Brianna lets out a short huff of air as she lands more or less in Joanna’s lap, their noses practically brushing as Brianna blinks at her in surprise. Joannie just looks over her shoulder at Regina, who gives her an encouraging nod.

Brianna shifts a little, trying to get comfortable against her without overbalancing, and Joanna reaches out to hold her wiry body tighter against her own as Freddie shifts behind her. “Let me out,” Freddie laughs quietly in her ear. “You’re tiny things, but I feel like I’m going to suffocate under the weight of the two of you.”

“Don’t go too far,” Joanna murmurs.

Freddie laughs again. “Oh, never. I’m just going to spend a little time with Blondie, love.”

Joanna smiles, settling more comfortably against the pillows as Freddie moves out of the way. Bri settles against her chest, and Joanna takes a long moment to just take in her flushed cheeks and blown pupils. Her skin is warm and soft, and she smells nice. She’s nice to hold.

And then Bri is shifting, moving to straddle her thigh almost hesitantly, as if she’s not sure Joanna will accept it. “Joannie,” she murmurs quietly, her face shifting into something between shy and impatient.

Joanna huffs out a laugh. She bends her leg at the knee so her thigh is pressing more firmly between Brianna’s legs, marveling in the way Brianna’s eyelashes flutter. Wetness meets her thigh as Brianna grinds down. “Yeah?” she asks her teasingly.

Bri huffs. “Joannie,” she says again, this time almost a warning.

“It doesn’t look like you need anything though, honey,” Joanna murmurs in response. “Looks like you’re doing just fine on your own.”

Off to her right she hears a sharply exhaled breath. “Shit,” Freddie whispers.

“Knew you were trouble,” Brianna breathes against her neck. “I knew it the minute I saw you.”

“You don’t seem to be complaining about it. You gonna rub yourself off just like that?” Joanna teases her. “Get yourself all worked up on my thigh? That’s dirty, Bri.”

Brianna’s next breath leaves her like it’s been punched out. She reaches up as if she’s going to hook her hands behind Joanna’s neck, then seems to hesitate and lets her fists rest weakly against the top of her chest, just beneath her collarbones. “I can’t,” she whines quietly, almost mournful.

Joanna raises her eyebrows and pecks her chastely on the lips, smiling when she whines again. “Sure about that?”

“She really can’t,” Regina supplies. Her voice is rougher than normal, her breath coming quick, and when Joanna looks over at her it’s to see Freddie mouthing at her chest. “She needs— _ah_ —something, something inside of her. Usually does, anyway.”

Joanna’s eyebrows rise even higher. “Is that true, honey?” she asks Brianna sweetly. “I can fill you up if you want. Make you nice and full.”

“Jesus fucking Christ, where did we find you,” she mutters breathlessly.

Regina snorts. “The side of the road,” she says dryly.

Joanna laughs under her breath. She puts her leg down, and Brianna sighs against her shoulder at the loss of friction. She doesn’t have to wait long; Joanna lets the hand on her waist trail around the front of her waistband before playing with the front of her skirt. Finally she flicks the hem up and slides her hand under, the heel of her palm pressing against Bri’s pubic bone through the thin cotton of her panties. The fabric is already wet beneath her fingers.

“You’re practically dripping for me,” she whispers roughly into Brianna’s ear.

“Don’t tease,” Brianna murmurs, and when Joanna lifts her chin with her other hand Brianna’s hazel eyes are foggy with pleasure. “Give it to me.”

“You can draw it out all night,” Regina says, her voice practically a growl. “She gets fucking desperate from a little teasing. It’s a sight. You get so wrecked for us, Bri.”

“Oh yeah?” Joanna mutters, half to herself. She tilts Brianna’s head in her hand, eyeing the soft pinkness of her mouth. “Don’t worry, babe. I’ll give it to you. I’m gonna take care of you.”

Brianna’s eyelashes flutter shut gratefully.

She presses her palm harder against her pussy, hesitating before moving forward. She doesn’t really know what she’s doing here. It can’t be difficult to figure out though, surely. She’s not exactly a virgin, even if she’s never been with another woman. She’s not shy about touching another person.

And the mechanics are easier, this time around. Dicks are one thing. At least she has experience getting herself off.

So she gives up on teasing her in favor of tugging her panties down below her skirt, tapping Bri’s thigh until she gets the message and helps her tug them off completely. Her knee socks cling stubbornly to her legs, riding down slightly but otherwise still in place, and Joanna considers them for a long moment before deciding not to bother with them. They’re cute.

She touches her finally, just barely grazing her fingers across her folds and smiling to herself at the wetness already beading there. Brianna huffs and squirms, her breath hot against Joanna’s neck. Finally she spreads her carefully, the blunt pads of her fingers sliding against slick skin until they meet her clit, pressing down and rubbing slowly.

Brianna huffs again. “You said you wouldn’t—”

“I know,” Joanna whispers soothingly, kissing the side of her head. Her curls smell like grapefruit, clean and sweet. “I’ve got you.”

She rubs her fingers across her pussy a few more times, smearing wetness and reveling in the mess that she’s making, before pressing two fingers in at once.

Brianna moans loudly, already rocking back against the pressure. Her long frame is practically bent over Joanna’s own, her mouth open against the side of her neck, her lips hot and wet. Joanna crooks her fingers upward hard and feels her thighs tremble.

“You’re a natural, Joannie,” Freddie snorts, her own fingers buried between Regina’s legs, the blonde’s trousers thrown off the edge of the mattress. “How’s she feel, Bri?”

“Good,” Brianna gets out, which Joanna would normally feel offended by if it weren’t for the fact that Brianna looks like she can barely rub two brain cells together, let alone form words. “Long fingers.”

Joanna smiles into her hair. “Yeah?” she asks.

She waits until she hears Bri begin to speak before jamming her fingers upward, directly into her g-spot. “Yeah,” she starts to say, but then trails off into a moan which rapidly becomes a shout.

“Noisy, Bri,” Freddie chides.

Brianna presses further into Joanna’s neck.

“Need us to put that mouth of yours to use?” Regina says lowly from across the room.

Brianna immediately looks up. “Reg,” she starts, already nodding. “Can I eat you out?”

“You really don’t have to ask, love,” Regina says playfully. She looks only a little upset when Freddie pulls away, patting the mattress. “Lay down, come on.”

Brianna frowns, seemingly not wanting to move from Joanna’s lap. Joanna shifts uncertainly, suddenly not sure how she fits into the room. “Should I—”

Regina is already nodding. “Yeah. Bri, you can have Joannie back as soon as you lay down, okay?”

Brianna huffs, and Regina smiles at Joannie over her shoulder as she guides her forward with a hand on her jaw. For her part, Brianna crawls less-than-gracefully across the mattress, her skirt fluttering back down over her ass as she goes.

“Alright there, love?” Regina murmurs as she gets closer.

Brianna huffs again. “Shut up,” she mutters, dropping to her elbows and pushing Regina’s legs apart. “Come here.”

“I don’t think you’re in any place to be so pushy,” Regina teases, getting comfortable. She doesn’t have much time to do it; the instant she’s close enough Brianna practically lunges to get her mouth between her legs, and Joanna is leaning forward to get a better view before she can help herself.

Freddie is at her side all at once. “Curious?” she whispers into Joannie’s ear.

Joannie reaches toward her without looking, managing to hook her arm around Freddie’s neck and drag her closer into her side. “If that’s not the motto of the night…”

Freddie huffs out a laugh into her ear. “Ever done it?”

“I’m going to let you take a guess.”

“Want it?” Freddie whispers into her ear, pausing to pull her hair aside and kiss the divot below her earlobe. “I’d be happy to show you, if you’d like.”

Warmth flares in her gut all at once, and she draws a shallow breath. “Can you?” she asks, her eyes still fixed on Bri’s face pressed between Regina’s legs. Her long fingers are gripping the outsides of Regina’s thighs, her fingertips digging into the soft skin, and she groans when Regina tugs at her hair.

“You want me to go down on you? Show you what all the fuss is about?”

Joannie turns to look at her. She’s met with dark eyes fixed on her own, Freddie’s lips slightly parted and her chin hovering just above Joannie’s shoulder.

“Actually, I was thinking I wanted to get my mouth on you,” Joannie whispers.

Brianna groans, pulling away to rest her head on Reggie’s thigh. “Joannie,” she whines.

“Oh, needy thing,” Reggie teases, tugging her hair sharply. “Don’t be greedy, baby.”

Joannie shakes her head, her lips quirking up despite herself. “No, I’ll help,” she says. “She’s been so good for us. I think she deserves it.”

“Hear that?” Regina says, her tone mocking. “She’s gonna turn you into a spoiled brat if she’s not careful.”

“ _Your_ spoiled brat,” Brianna says, her voice muffled against Regina’s leg. Regina just snorts. “Joannie? Can I please have your fingers back?”

Joannie nods, forgetting for a moment that Brianna can’t see her. She reaches out to play with the edge of Bri’s skirt, reveling in the way her hips twitch just at that. She lets them graze Bri’s ass, and the older girl whines.

“You were right. She is needy,” Freddie says darkly, her chin still hooked over Joannie’s shoulder.

Joannie hums, letting her fingers trail lower until her thumb is brushing her folds, gathering the wetness there.

“How about this, Bri,” Regina says sweetly. “If you make me come you can have Joannie’s fingers back. Alright?”

Brianna huffs. “You said you would,” she says, turning to look over her shoulder.

“I know, honey,” Joannie sighs. Freddie begins mouthing at her throat, and she leans into the sensation. “Reggie’s in charge, though. You should know that.”

“Is she now?” Freddie murmurs into Joannie’s ear.

Joannie looks up, meeting Regina’s eyes across the small space. Regina is staring right back, her eyelashes fluttering as Brianna leans in and goes to work. Her pupils are blown, her cheeks flushed and her mouth hanging open slightly.

“How about you go give her a kiss, then?” Freddie whispers.

Joannie hums. “Are you still going to—”

“Of course.” Strong fingers tug her jaw to the side and then Freddie’s lips are on hers, kissing her long and deep. Joannie can’t help but chase it when she pulls back, and Freddie laughs into her mouth. “Go on,” she says.

She can’t quite keep a moan down at that. She falls to her hands and knees, crawling around Brianna and gasping when Freddie lands a smack on her ass as she goes. But then she’s beside Reggie, the other girl giving her a dark smile before reaching out to tug her forward by her hair, guiding her into a filthy kiss that’s all tongue and teeth.

“Fuck,” Freddie breathes behind them.

Joannie moans into it, crawling closer and arching her back to press her chest against Reggie’s own. Reggie sighs against her cheek at that, reaching up to trail her fingertips across Joannie’s bra.

“Can I take this off?” she murmurs against Joannie’s mouth.

Joannie nods.

“Words.”

“ _Yes.”_

She gets it unclasped in one motion, but Joannie’s shirt presents a bit of an obstacle. Joannie ends up shucking it off herself, Reg struggling to help tug it down and pull her bra off one-handed. Joannie has to lean back to let her do it; but then her hands are back, both of them this time, cupping her breasts and pinching at her nipples, and she feels all at once as if she’s only tethered to earth by that one single feeling.

Regina’s hands stay on her even as her eyes travel back down to Bri. She feels exposed all at once, and completely filthy. There’s something about it that’s sending her head spinning—something about being completely stripped and pressed to Regina’s side while Bri continues to eat the other girl out. It’s dizzying at first, in a good way.

It’s good, until it’s not.

“Regina,” she says quietly.

Something in her tone must register, because Regina pauses what she’s doing to study her face. “Alright, Joannie?”

“Yeah,” she says, her voice hushed, then rethinks it. “I mean…I don’t know.”

“What’s wrong?”

She squirms. “I don’t like—can I take your shirt off?”

Regina is already reaching for the buttons of her shirt. “Feel too exposed?”

“Yeah, I guess,” she mutters. It’s as close as she can come to putting the feeling to name. She isn’t sure quite how to quantify the ugliness of it; the lingering feeling of a gaze that’s no longer around or of words that were spoken months ago. Something about the current situation—about the vulnerability—is sending her reeling, a familiar darkness tugging at the back of her brain.

And then all at once there are arms around her.

“It’s alright,” Freddie murmurs. “We got ahead of ourselves, didn’t we? Don’t worry. I know the feeling.”

“Thanks,” Joannie sighs softly. She presses closer against Freddie’s chest, the soft fabric of the other girl’s sweater warm against her bare skin.

“Here,” Reggie says, and when Joannie pulls back it’s to see her holding her own blouse aloft, the soft pink of her bra exposed to the room. “Do you want this? For now at least?”

“Thank you,” Joannie says. Reggie passes it off to Freddie, who holds it out so that Joannie can pull her arms through the thin silk of the sleeves. “I’m sorry. I know it’s silly after—”

“Nothing to apologize for,” Freddie murmurs, kissing Joannie’s temple. “Is that better?”

“Yes.” She glances down and is met with the sight of Brianna looking back, her cheek resting against Reggie’s thigh. Joannie isn’t sure when she stopped, and she feels her own cheeks heat. “I’m—I don’t want to stop. I’m sorry. This is good.”

“You’re sure?” Reggie asks softly.

She nods. “I’m sure. It caught up to me for a second, but I’m okay. I still want to eat you out, Fred.”

Freddie smiles. “Well, I’m certainly not opposed to that. I just want to be sure that you’re comfortable, love.”

“I’m alright,” Joannie insists.

“And what can I do to make sure you stay alright?”

She says it teasingly, but one look at her is enough to tell Joannie she’s serious. Joannie purses her lips hesitantly. “I liked what we were doing before,” she says softly. “It just got to me all at once. It’s the same feeling of…I don’t know. Of fear, almost. I don’t like being so exposed.”

“The feeling that you’re an object,” Regina says, her eyes hard with an anger that Joannie knows isn’t directed at her; knows by the soft touch Regina uses to cup her cheek. “What you and Freddie did earlier—was that okay?”

Joannie nods. “It’s good to be close like that. It feels better.”

“I’m sorry, Joannie.”

“It’s not your fault,” she replies, and it’s the truth. Whatever insecurities she has are the lingering shadows of past deeds; of other hands that have touched her and other discomforts she tamped down for the benefit of her partner. She knows that, and she thinks these women must know it, too.

Regina just confirms that by tugging her forward. She pauses when their lips are a hair’s breadth apart, waiting for Joannie to pull away; Joanna closes the gap herself, pressing their lips together, and where she expected hunger she just gets sweetness and comfort. Regina kisses her like she’s kissing a lover, and Joanna can’t help but sigh and relax into it, Freddie still holding her and taking the brunt of her weight as Regina licks past her lips gently.

By the time she pulls away Joanna feels hazy around the edges. Her eyelids feel heavy and her head is spinning pleasantly; the dark, nagging feeling has been replaced by a warm, golden glow.

“Alright?” Regina whispers, her pretty eyes flitting to Joanna’s mouth.

Joanna nods. “Good. I’m okay. I want to continue,” she adds, turning to look at Freddie. “I still want to eat you out. Just…close. Stay close to me.”

“It’s a good thing there are three of us, huh?” Freddie says. “How about you lay down next to Brianna?”

Brianna smiles up at her sweetly at that, a teasing glint in her eyes, and Joanna can’t help but let out a little laugh. She slides down the mattress slightly until she’s on the other side of Regina’s thigh, and Brianna leans up on her elbows to kiss her.

“Hi,” she whispers against her lips.

“Hi yourself.”

Brianna lets out a tiny giggle, leaning forward to capture her lips again and lick into her mouth. Her fingers are overheated and slightly clammy against Joanna’s cheek. Her mouth tastes salty and vaguely sweet like brine, and Joanna groans into the kiss breathlessly when she realizes it’s Regina she’s tasting. She sucks on her tongue eagerly and feels Brianna stifle a smile against her lips. Her hand trails from Joanna’s cheek to her chest, thumbing her nipple through the thin fabric of Regina’s blouse, and then she’s wrapping a warm arm around Joanna’s waist and holding her there.

“Good?” Brianna whispers when she finally pulls away.

Her lips are bruised red and slick with saliva, and Joanna would give practically anything to have them on hers again. She just nods, still watching her, and Brianna laughs.

“I’ll kiss you as much as you want later, but there are much more fun things you could be doing with your mouth right now.”

Right. Freddie. She rolls her neck, turning to see Freddie still hovering above her.

“Still want to?” Freddie asks, her face open.

Joanna grins. “Freddie, get over here.”

“You mean…” Freddie asks, her eyes widening. “Are you sure? I don’t want to hold you down if—”

“I’m sure,” she says, forcing a little steel into her voice, and Freddie’s breath catches. “Come take a seat.”

Freddie snorts out a graceless little laugh that has Brianna giggling as well. Joanna, still sprawled on her back, grins at Reggie, who’s smiling at her upside-down, her hair hanging over her face. She ducks to peck Joanna’s lips, and Joanna smiles into that, too.

“As for you,” Reggie says, tugging at Bri’s curls, “I think you had a job to do, love.”

“Now who’s impatient?” Brianna teases.

Reggie starts to answer, but she gives up midway through when Bri leans in once more. Joanna can’t see what she’s doing from here, but she can see Reggie’s reaction to it and that’s more than enough. She watches her long eyelashes flutter, her mouth falling open slightly. Bri’s palm trails across Joanna’s stomach before she blindly finds her hand, tangling their fingers together and giving them a squeeze.

“Still sure about this?” Freddie asks Joanna softly.

She’s still seated near Joanna’s head, looking down at her hesitantly, and Joanna has never been more sure of anything in her life.

“Of course I am,” she says. “Come on.”

“Tap me twice if you need a break. I don’t want to crush you.”

“You won’t. You’re tiny.”

Freddie makes a face at her, but she sits up to shuffle out of her panties. She throws one leg over her without preamble, her bum resting lightly on the top of Joanna’s chest. “Alright?”

“Yes,” Joanna says firmly. She reaches up to grip Freddie’s hip, tracing the soft warmth of her skin with the pad of her thumb. “God, and to think I’m the inexperienced one here.”

“Do it, Fred,” Reggie pipes up. She leans forward far enough to hook a wrist around Freddie’s neck, dragging her close to peck her on the lips. “She wants it.”

Freddie huffs a laugh. “Two taps,” she reminds Joanna.

Joanna nods.

And then Freddie is scooting forward even further, and then she’s hovering over Joanna’s mouth, close enough that she can feel the heat. Joannie huffs in frustration, craning her neck upward until she can press her face against her and lick a wide stripe up her slit, and Freddie finally sighs and rests more fully against her.

It’s heavenly.

She isn’t sure what she was expecting, but what she gets is salt and clean skin and wet heat, and the combination of it drags a moan out of her. That makes Freddie moan too—and no wonder, with the way Joannie’s mouth is pressed against her—and all she wants is to hear that sound again. She licks over her lazily a few more times before finding her clit and sucking it between her lips, and Freddie’s hips stutter as she groans. Brianna squeezes her hand again and Freddie’s fingers are in her hair and she thinks it’s Reggie who’s cupping the other side of her head, and she feels warm and safe and surrounded.

And very turned on. That too.

“Bri,” Reggie pants above her. “Fuck, _fuck_ , Freddie why are you still wearing so many clothes?”

She leaves Freddie’s clit alone after a minute, pulling away to mouth over it and then lick over her entrance instead. Freddie doesn’t react strongly to it, or maybe it’s just because she’s busy helping Reggie rapidly unbutton her sweater; she reacts a minute later when Joannie tries to find out how far she can lick inside of her though, her back arching as she lets out a harsh pant, so Joanna does it again and again until she’s gasping for air.

It unbalances her a little. Joannie does her best to steady her with a hand on her hip and lets her eyes flutter open just to see what’s going on. She’s not disappointed; Reg appears to finally have made away with Freddie’s sweater, working the last sleeve down the other girl’s wrist even as she kisses her hard, moaning into her mouth. They look like they’re both hovering on the edge, desperate.

She lets her free hand fall from Freddie’s hip, trailing it through the wet mess she’s made and licking at her clit again as she rubs the pad of one finger against her entrance.

 _“Yes,”_ Freddie breathes.

She pushes inside, rubbing against her walls slowly in contrast to everything else they’ve done. Freddie whines at the pace of it, squirming against her and tugging at her hair.

“Two,” she pants.

Joannie fights back a smile at that. She crooks her single finger up gently, not nearly enough pressure to get her where she wants to be, and Freddie groans.

“Fucking tease,” she hisses. “Please, Joannie.”

She seals her lips around her clit again, sucking in long pulses. Freddie lets out a breathy moan, her hands tightening in Joannie’s hair. Her hips jerk again as if she’s resisting the urge to just ride Joannie’s face full-out.

“Please?” she breathes softly, her tone gentle, and that’s what finally makes Joannie give in.

She slides a second finger inside of her, the stretch smooth and easy with the mess they’ve already made, and Freddie moans gratefully and rolls her hips into the feeling. Joannie curls her fingers against her walls, searching; she picks up the pace when Freddie clenches around her and lets out a steady stream of gibberish, _that’s it_ and _perfect_ and _more more more please yes_ , and then she goes silent and draws in a quick series of breaths until all at once she’s groaning and rolling her hips against Joanna’s face.

Joanna licks her through it, still pumping her fingers inside of her and lapping up her wetness. She doesn’t let up until Freddie shudders and sits up, tugging Joanna’s head away even as she tries to follow her with her mouth.

“How was that?” Freddie asks her, still trying to catch her breath.

Joanna almost laughs. “Shouldn’t I be asking you that?”

“It was perfect,” Freddie says with a dopey smile. Her thighs shake beneath her, and she rolls off Joannie quickly only to sprawl against Regina’s side; Regina, who for her part looks as if she’s about to lose her mind. “Mmh. Yeah, perfect.”

“I’m glad,” Joanna says honestly. “I could eat you out all day.”

“I don’t think I could handle _that_ , though it’s a good thing there are three of us, huh?” she purrs into Reggie’s neck. Reggie throws her arm around her shoulders, her fingers tangling in Freddie’s hair. “What about you, Reg? Would you let Joannie eat you out all day?”

Regina _whines,_ her head thrown back and her body twisting as much as it can in Brianna’s grip. “Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah,” she slurs, and Joanna genuinely isn’t sure if it’s an answer or if she’s even listening at all. All she _can_ tell is that the other girl is about five seconds from losing it.

“Come on, Reg,” she finds herself whispering, absently letting her hand wander down to touch herself.

She didn’t think it was even audible over the harsh pants and heavy sighs, but Regina’s eyes snap open and land directly on her. That’s all it takes; her breath stutters in her throat, her eyelashes fluttering, and then her face goes slack with pleasure as she rides out her peak.

Brianna works her through it, her hand gripping Joanna’s tightly the whole time. The minute Regina’s body goes lax Brianna is all but lunging over her thigh, plastering herself against Joanna’s body.

“Joannie,” she pants, ducking to kiss her messily. “Joannie, you’re so good, your mouth tastes so good. You were perfect. _Please_ can you—”

“I got you,” Joannie says quickly. She reaches down to touch her, and Brianna’s soaked, the slickness smeared across the inside of her thighs. “I’ve got you, don’t worry. You’ve been waiting long enough.”

“Thank you,” Brianna breathes; practically sobs as Joanna pushes her middle two fingers inside of her finally, sliding in deep and crooking them against her spot. Her lips are wet against Joanna’s cheeks, and she leaves a long string of kisses from her mouth to her neck, sucking at the skin there gently.

“So good for us, baby,” Joannie whispers to her, and she moans. “You were such a good girl for us.”

“Brianna,” Reggie says, her voice still strained and exhausted, and when Joannie turns to look she’s met with the sight of her and Freddie, exhausted and curled into each other, both of them watching Joanna and Bri with dark eyes. “Don’t be selfish. Touch her.”

Bri moans against Joannie’s shoulder, and a moment later her fingers are drifting down Joanna’s stomach. She rubs a gentle circle into Joanna’s clit, smearing the wetness there, and Joanna gasps.

“Like that?” Bri whispers.

Joannie nods, crooking her fingers into her. “Faster.”

Bri builds a rhythm quickly and Joannie tries not to get swept up in it, keeping her fingers moving on autopilot even as Bri gasps and grinds into her touch. She wants to see this through; wants to bring Bri to release, and she’s determined to keep her wits about her. Brianna seems to be in the same place, gasping and moaning even as her fingers work with unerring accuracy, making Joannie’s head spin and her thoughts unravel.

In the end neither of them win, or maybe they both do.

Brianna starts letting out tiny little _ah, ah, ah_ s against Joannie’s shoulder, and Joannie can only hold her tighter against her with her free arm as her own pleasure spikes. It’s fizzing out of control all at once, building and building as Brianna clenches tightly around her fingers. She’s rolling her own hips upward into Brianna’s hand frantically, letting out a moan as Brianna slurs praise in her direction.

“Oh, beautiful, girls,” Freddie murmurs.

One more circle of Brianna’s fingers and she’s tipping over the edge. Distantly she’s aware of wetness on her arm and of Brianna mouthing at her shoulder, but she hardly registers it as pleasure jolts up her spine and explodes outward. The world fades away; everything disappears, save for the weight of Brianna in her arms and Freddie and Regina’s dull murmurs.

She allows herself to sprawl there until her senses come back slowly. The first thing she registers is Brianna’s hair tickling her cheek, and the second thing is how her arm is falling asleep. She pulls her fingers out of Brianna as carefully as she can. Brianna grumbles at the sensation, curling around her more closely, and kisses her shoulder.

A hand scratches through her hair, and when she looks up it’s to the sight of Regina hovering over her. “Alright?” she asks with a gentle smile.

Joannie nods. “Perfect. Was good.”

“You need anything? Food? Cigarette?”

“No. Just you.”

“That we can do,” Freddie says softly from somewhere behind her, and then one of the sheets is behind tugged out from beneath her feet and pulled over her. A moment later Freddie is curling up against her other side. She reaches across Joannie’s chest to pet Brianna’s head. “Alright there, Brimi?”

Brianna hums. “Yeah,” she says, her voice rough.

Regina pulls on a pair of panties, forgoing her top entirely. She seems to notice a burnt out stub of a joint on the mattress; Joannie laughs as she watches her pick it up and toss it into the ashtray with a look of disgust, and when Regina catches her eye she grins.

“It was shit weed anyway, wasn’t it?” she says as she curls up behind Brianna.

“The company was much better,” Joanna replies, and she gets a kiss between her shoulder blade through the silk of Reggie’s shirt for her efforts. It’s not a direct touch, and she craves that contact all at once; she shuffles backward from beneath Brianna, tugging her shirt off by the sleeves. Freddie hesitates before moving to help her.

“Feel better?” she asks, hesitation evident in her voice.

Joanna nods. “I am. I’m sorry about earlier.”

“Stop apologizing,” Brianna murmurs, her eyes still closed. When Joanna settles again she curls up against her, sighing when the hand against her back meets warm skin. “Don’t worry about it. I know how it can be.”

Freddie frowns. “How what can be?”

“The feeling of being exposed in a way you don’t like. Being leered at every time we look beautiful, so that we feel like shit whenever we should be our most confident. But you’re gorgeous, Joanna,” she adds, kissing her throat. “You’re beautiful and—and sharp and amazing, and you’re so _good,_ and that feeling’s gonna go away very soon.”

Joanna raises her eyebrows. She meets Reggie’s gaze over Brianna’s shoulder. She expected the other girl to be jealous, or at least uneasy about her girlfriend piling praise upon someone they’d only met a few hours before. Instead Reggie just looks proud.

“How do you know that?” Joanna asks her.

“Because I’ve dated men, and men _suck._ Dating women is much better.”

“I’ve dated men,” Reggie pipes up.

“Well yeah, but you wouldn’t know insecurity if it bit you in the arse.”

“I’m not sure if I should be offended by that,” Regina muses. “I can agree, though. Dating women is…it’s different.”

The words catch in Joanna’s exhausted brain. She turns them over in her head, gathering her courage for a long moment before finally speaking. “Dating…women? Multiple women?”

Freddie laughs against the back of her neck. “I thought by now it would be clear that I’m a little more than a couch surfer.”

“Is that so?” Regina gripes. “Maybe you should start chipping in on rent, then.”

“Oh, piss off. I’m just passing through.”

“You’ve been passing through for three weeks now,” Regina says, and when she sits up there’s laughter hidden away in her eyes.

“What happened?” Joannie asks. “Did she just show up one day and decide to sleep in your bed?”

“More or less, though I suppose she didn’t just decide to sleep with us. It was after she was invited that she decided she would be staying indefinitely. I can’t say I’m not getting used to it, though.”

“So that’s it?” Freddie asks with a little laugh. “You want me to stick around?”

“I want to stick around _with_ you. I think I can speak for Brianna, as well.”

Brianna hums. “I’m supposed to go back to school soon.”

“School?” Joanna asks her.

“Imperial.”

“In London?”

“In London,” Brianna echoes. She turns her head enough to send Joanna a sleepy smile. “Maybe we’ll see each other there?”

Joanna swallows, her mind grinding to a halt. Surely she can’t mean what Joanna thinks she means. “If you want to,” she says honestly. “I’d like that.”

“I’d like that too,” Brianna hums, kissing her sweetly with soft lips.

“You mean that?” Reggie asks softly. “You want…I mean, would the two of you want that? For this to happen again?”

Brianna nods. “I would. I know this was all a surprise, but I had fun. I’d like to see you again,” she adds, turning to Joanna. “I’d like to get to know you better.”

“Are you trying to date me?” Joanna asks, keeping her tone light and joking.

Brianna just smiles. “You gonna let me?”

“Well, if you’re going to London then I’m coming, too,” Freddie pipes up, curling closer to Joanna.

Reggie laughs. “What happened to our little wayfarer?”

“Shut up. I’m needed at home. They’ve been asking for me for months now.”

“I didn’t picture you as the doting daughter type,” Brianna muses.

“I’m not talking about my family,” Freddie gripes. “I’m talking about my _band_. I walked out on them weeks ago. They’ve been trying to contact me for ages.”

Joanna laughs. “What?”

“She’s a singer,” Brianna explains quickly. “She was, anyway. She skipped town after her band wouldn’t let her rename them.”

“Ibex is a shite name and we all know it,” Freddie says. “No, if you’re all going to London then I’m coming, too. I’ll sleep on Bri’s couch or something.”

“You’re welcome to sleep in my bed,” Brianna says with a laugh.

“ _I’ll_ be sleeping in your bed,” Reggie pipes up.

“What, you’re coming too?”

“Of course. You’re all going. What else am I supposed to do? Stay here?”

“I mean…” Joannie muses.

Reggie just scoffs. “Please. Of course I’m coming. Hell, none of you have cars. I’m probably _driving_.”

Joanna laughs at that. She laughs, and all at once she can’t stop. The ridiculousness—the _lunacy_ of the situation—is finally getting to her. To think that she started the day with plans to surprise her boyfriend while he was away, caught him in bed with another girl, broke down in the middle of nowhere and ended the night here, on a mattress on a bare floor, surrounded by these women…she can’t wrap her head around it.

She feels Freddie grinning against the back of her neck. Bri and Reggie are practically giggling along with her; Bri’s hand is warm against her hip, her thumb tracing her skin back and forth and back and forth. She rolls, burrowing further into the sheets and Bri’s chest, and feels someone kiss her head.

“So you’re all going to London?” she gets out finally, tears still in her eyes.

“It looks that way,” Bri says with mock seriousness.

Joanna lets out another little wheeze of laughter, her stomach hurting. “I’ll leave you a forwarding number,” she replies, and Bri giggles.

“You don’t need to,” Reggie offers. “You’re welcome to drive with us, you know. Just you, me, Freddie and Bri…and all my clothes…and my kit…”

“And all _my_ clothes,” Bri adds, “and all Fred’s stuff…”

“Your guitar,” Reggie lists. “Your amps, the bed…”

“Should we maybe hire someone?” Freddie asks.

“Reggie,” Joanna cuts in, and waits until blue eyes fall on her. “I would be delighted to be squished into your van alongside all your stuff and get driven to London. Provided you’re offering, that is.”

“Deaky, we’d be honored to have you,” Reggie says grandly, and then ruins it by laughing.

“It’s gonna be a right pain in the ass, moving,” Freddie says through a yawn, curling more closely against Joanna’s back. “I’ve always hated the packing.”

“That’s a problem for tomorrow,” Brianna says.

“For tomorrow?”

“Mhm. The only thing we need to worry about now is sleep.”

Brianna’s eyes are already closed, so Joanna doesn’t think she catches the fond smile Reggie sends her way. Reggie catches Joanna’s eye a beat later though, and Joanna grins at the wink she receives.

Reggie gets up and turns off the kitchen lights. It leaves the room lit just by the old Christmas bulbs and the stars outside. The air is heavy and briny from the marine wind outside. Between the coolness of it, the heat of the bodies around her and her utter exhaustion Joanna feels more than ready to nod off.

“Night,” Bri whispers.

Freddie shifts. “Don’t let the bed bugs bite.”

“You shouldn’t be worrying about _bed bugs_ ,” Reggie says teasingly, and a moment later Bri squeals and squirms against Joanna’s chest.

Joanna reaches across her to swat at Reggie’s head.

Reggie laughs, but she settles again. Bri curls back up against Joanna, and Freddie sighs against the back of Joanna’s neck.

“Sweet dreams,” Reggie whispers.

Joanna smiles to herself. She thinks, privately, that fewer dreams would be sweeter than this; it’s her last thought before she drifts off to sleep, the others breathing steadily and soothingly around her. 

**Author's Note:**

> There will be a new vloggers chapter soon!! I swear!! It's all written, it just needs to be edited!! Take this in the meantime!!!


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